Method and computer for the provision of additional information

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a method for the provision of information additional to reproduced information and use of a program loaded in an arithmetic unit ( 1 ) for reproduction of information, whereby the program contacts at least one data bank ( 6  to  10 ), which may contain logical additional information to the information reproduced by the program. Should there be additional information for reproduced information in the data bank ( 6  to  10 ), the program marks the information and links the information Lu the additional information, whereby the marking of the information may be activated such that the additional information can be displayed. The invention further relates to a computer ( 1 ) provided with such a program.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention concerns a method to provide additional information usinga program, loaded on a computer, to reproduce information. The inventionmoreover concerns a computer comprising such a program to reproduceinformation.

Documents, in particular documents which are provided for an expertcircle of readers, frequently contain technical terms andsubject-specific abbreviations. These technical terms andsubject-specific abbreviations frequently cause an inexperienced ornon-expert reader of the document difficulties in completelycomprehending the content or statement of the document, since additionalinformation connected with the technical terms or the subject-specificabbreviations remains hidden to him.

For documents which exist in file form and can be displayed on acomputer using a text processing program (such as Microsoft Word™), itis known, for example, to provide a spelling aid which checks every wordof a document for the correct spelling and, if necessary, givessuggestions for improvement. Furthermore, databank-based thesaurusesexist which can offer one or more words for each individual word of adocument which have the same or a similar meaning as the individualword. Moreover, it is known to provide individual words or sequences ofdocuments existing in file form (for example, in “interactive books”)with hyperlinks in order to be able to access data which, for example,are present on the same data medium as the document itself, or in orderto refer to data on the Internet.

However, none of these known methods solves the problem indicatedpreviously: to make an arbitrary document comprising technical terms andsubject-specific abbreviations and present in file form moreintelligible for an non-expert reader via the provision of additionalinformation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention is therefore based on the object to provide a method and acomputer of the previously cited type which enable additionalinformation that can be retrieved in a comfortable manner to be providedin addition to information reproducible on a viewing device.

According to the invention, this object is achieved via a method toprovide additional information using a program, loaded on a computer, toreproduce information, comprising: a) contacting, by the program, atleast one databank which can comprise at least one item of logicaladditional information regarding information reproducible with theprogram; b) comparing at least one element of reproducible informationwith at least one element comprised in the databank; c) marking theelement of the reproduced information when logical additionalinformation regarding the element exists in the databank; and d) linkingthe marked element of the reproducible information with the additionalinformation, the marking of the element configured to be activated suchthat the additional information can be displayed.

This object is also achieved via a computer comprising a program toreproduce information, the program comprising: an input configured toaccept commands from a user; a display configured to provide informationto a user; a databank communication element configured to contact atleast one databank which can comprise at least one item of logicaladditional information regarding reproducible information; a comparisonroutine configured to compare one element of reproducible informationwith at least one element comprised in the databank; an update routineconfigured to: a) mark the element of the reproduced information whenlogical additional information regarding the element exists in thedatabank, and b) link the marked element of the reproducible informationwith the additional information, the marking of the element configuredto be activated such that the additional information can be displayed.

Via contacting of at least one databank, information reproducible on aviewing device is inventively examined as to whether logical additionalinformation exists with regard to least one element of the reproducibleinformation. If this is the case, the corresponding element of thereproducible information is provided with a marking that can beactivated, and this element is linked with the additional informationpresent in the databank such that the additional information can bedisplayed via activation of the marking of the element.

In this manner, it is possible to provide an arbitrary document(containing information which can be displayed with a computer on aviewing device) with links to retrievable additional informationexisting in databanks. After the inventive modification, a documentcomprising technical term and subject-specific abbreviations can thusalso be completely comprehended in terms of content by an non-expert orinexperienced reader using provided additional information. “Logicaladditional information” means information which represents knowledgewhich helps the reader in the understanding of the information andenables logical reasoning.

Various embodiments of the invention are discussed below. According to avariant of the invention, an element of reproducible information is aword, a contraction, a number, a logical structure, a variable or acombination of these. According to a variant of the invention, anelement can comprise at least one sub-element. An element can thus, forexample, be a generic term under which further terms (namely thesub-elements) can be subsumed. A further variant of the inventionprovides that various sub-elements belonging to an element which arecomprised in reproducible information are uniformly marked, such that itis clear that various sub-elements belong to an element.

According to particularly preferred embodiments of the invention, theprogram offers a selection of contactable databanks, such that a usercan specifically select one or more specific databanks in whichadditional information regarding reproducible information can berequested. The program can preferably simultaneously search in aplurality of databanks. If additional information regarding an elementhas been found in various databanks, the element is multiply anddistinguishably marked in order to be able to differentiably displayadditional information.

A variant of the invention provides that the program subjects a pixelgraphic file which comprises reproducible information to an OCR (opticalcharacter recognition), whereby a file comprising elements is obtained.Based on this file, ultimately logical additional information regardingat least one element comprised in the file is sought in at least onedatabank and, insofar as additional information regarding the element ispresent, the section of the pixel graphic file belonging to the elementof the comprising file is marked given reproduction of the pixel graphicfile. This variant of the invention thus also enables correspondingsections which represent pixel groups in pixel graphic files to bemarked, and thus to be provided with a link such that, after activationof the marking, additional information regarding the correspondingsections can be displayed.

According to a further variant of the invention, a categorization of thereproducible information can ensue via a marking of an overall documentcomprising reproducible information. A “document” is defined as, forexample, a file or a data set. Such a categorization can, for example,ensue on the basis of additional information associated with an element,this additional information being predetermined by the user or alsoalready preallocated in the program as a categorization criterion.

According to a further variant of the invention, under consideration ofthe structure under which information is reproduced, at least onedatabank (in which at least one item of additional information can bepresent for information reproducible in the structure element) can beassociated with a structure element of the structure. If, for example,specific information is thus reproduced in specific fields, individualfields of a databank can thus be associated in which additionalinformation with regard to the specific information is sought. In thismanner, additional information in a databank can be referred to not onlystarting from an element, but also starting from a field.

Particularly preferred embodiments of the invention provide that theprogram is an Internet browser and that the marking is a link whichrefers to additional information existing in a databank.

Another variant of the invention provides that, in the course of thelinking, the additional information is added to the reproducibleinformation, such that the additional information is displayed uponactivation of the marking. In this manner, existing additionalinformation of reproducible information can be durably appended and be acomponent (in terms of content) of a document comprising thereproducible information.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

An exemplary embodiment of the invention is shown in attached schematicFigures.

FIG. 1 is a pictorial block diagram of an inventive computer configuredto execute the inventive method;

FIG. 2 is a display of exemplary information reproducible on a viewingdevice; and

FIG. 3 is a display of the reproducible information from FIG. 2 afterimplementation of the inventive method.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

An inventive computer 1 is shown in FIG. 1 as a component of acommunication structure. A viewing device 2 and input mechanism (in theform of a keyboard 3 and a computer mouse 4) are connected to thecomputer 1. The computer 1 is connected with various databanks 6 through10 via a communication network 5, for example, the Internet. Stored onthe computer 1 is a program (preferably a modified Internet browser)which can be executed with the computer 1 to reproduce information. Thefunctioning of the program is explained in the following text usingreproducible information which originates from the query of a patentdatabank (not shown).

In FIG. 2, a data set comprising information from the query of thepatent databank is shown in a known manner on the viewing device 2 whichis connected to the computer 1. The data set comprises a plurality ofinformation regarding a patent application. The reproduced informationcomprises a plurality of elements (by which can be understoodabbreviations, words, numbers, logical structures, variables orcombinations of the same) whose meanings are known to an expert readerbut do not disclose themselves to an inexperienced or non-expert readerwithout anything further. Moreover, further information connected withelements, which an expert reader can associate with these elements,remain hidden from the inexperienced or non-expert reader.

With the help of the inventive method, additional information can now bemade available to an inexperienced or non-expert reader, such that theycan also completely comprehend the reproduced information and can drawlogical conclusions. It is inventively provided that, to provideadditional information, the program contacts at least one databank whichcomprises logical additional information regarding individual elementsof the information reproduced in FIG. 2. “Logical additionalinformation”, is defined as information serving for the comprehension ofthe reproduced information which represent knowledge and enable thereader to draw logical conclusions.

The program thereby compares elements of the reproduced information withelements comprised in the databank, marks any elements of the reproducedinformation for which logical additional information exist in thedatabank, and links the marked elements of the reproduced informationwith the additional information in the databank, whereby the marking ofan element can be activated such that the additional information can bedisplayed on a viewing device 2 in addition to the reproducedinformation.

To contact one or more databanks, the program provides the respectiveuser with a user interface (not explicitly shown in the Figures) by wayof which the user of the program can select from a predetermined numberof contactable databanks one or more databanks in which the program canand should also simultaneously search for additional information for thereproduced information on the viewing device 2. If the user has selectedthe corresponding databanks, he can initiate the search for additionalinformation via the program.

FIG. 3 shows the result of the execution of the method. As is clear fromFIG. 3, elements of the reproduced information are marked and linkedwith information from the contacted databanks, such that one or moreitems of additional information can be displayed on the viewing device 2upon activation of the marking of an element.

In the case of the present exemplary embodiment, the databank 6(connected with the computer 1 via the communication network 5) whichcomprises additional information regarding the abbreviations combinedunder the reference character 20 was selected. In the case of thepresent embodiment, after processing by the program, the abbreviationsare respectively marked with a line 21 running laterally, such that itis immediately clear for the reader of the reproduced information thatadditional information exists for this.

Given this type of marking, in the course of linking the reproducedinformation with additional information, the additional information isadded to the reproduced information (thus becomes part of the reproducedinformation) such that the corresponding additional information isdisplayed on the viewing device 2 via activation of one of the markings21. An activation of one of the markings 21 can, for example, ensue inthat a cursor (not explicitly shown in FIG. 3) can be moved with, e.g.,a computer mouse 4 to one of the markings 21, and, by clicking, theadditional information can be displayed.

If a user proceeds in this manner, in that he, for example, moves thecursor to the marking 21 added to the abbreviation “PD” and activatesthe marking 21, the additional information “Priority Date” is displayedon the viewing device 2. In the same manner, the long notations of theother abbreviations combined under the reference character 20 can bedisplayed as additional information on the viewing device 2.

In the case of the present exemplary embodiment, the information of adata set obtained from the patent databank is reproduced in individualfields F1 through F15, as this is schematically indicated in FIG. 3.Under consideration of this form of the reproduction, the possibilityexists to respectively associate a databank in which additionalinformation can be sought with the information of individual fields, andthus individual structure elements.

In the case of the present exemplary embodiment, this is the case forthe field F9, in which abbreviations of countries in which patentapplications have been submitted are comprised. The databank 7 whichcomprises long notations regarding the abbreviations of the countrynames exists associated with the field F9. After processing by theprogram, markings 22 (given whose activation the long notation can bedisplayed on the viewing device 2) have been associated with theabbreviations of the country names.

If, for example, an inexperienced reader cannot do anything with thecountry abbreviation “SG”, he can activate, in the previously specifiedmanner, the marking 22 associated with the abbreviation “SG”, wherebythe long notation (in the present case “Singapore”) is displayed on theviewing surface. In the same manner, one or more specific databanks (inwhich additional information is sought for the information reproduced inthe respective field) can be associated with other fields of thereproduced information. The association of databanks with individualfields can ensue via the user or be preallocated in the programdependent on the information to be reproduced.

A second form of the marking is shown as an example of the patentapplicant (PA=patent assignee) of the present patent information in thefield F6 of the reproduced information. The name Siemens AG is providedwith two markings 23 and 24 different from one another whichrespectively each represent what is known as a hyperlink.

The first hyperlink, characterized as a solid line 23, thereby refers toa first databank 8, and the second hyperlink, characterized with adash-dot line 24, refers to a second databank 9 in which informationregarding Siemens AG can be retrieved. The program can thus alsomultiply mark elements for which additional information is to be foundin different databanks. In contrast to the additional informationassociated with the markings 21 and 22 (which has been added to the dataset and is now part of the data set), the hyperlinks 23, 24 refer onlyto data or additional information which can be retrieved and displayedvia the Internet from the databanks 8 and 9. The additional informationlocated near the hyperlinks 23 and 24 are themselves this not added tothe content of the data set.

Individual elements of the reproduced information can also comprisesub-elements. Sub-elements of the element Siemens AG could, for example,be the companies Infineon or OSRAM (not comprised in the presentreproduced information) since Siemens AG owns parts of Infineon AG orsince OSRAM is a subsidiary of Siemens AG. If the company names Infineonor OSRAM were thus to appear in the reproduced, examined information,these would be provided with a marking as in the same manner as the firmdesignation Siemens AG, such that for the reader it is immediatelyrecognizable from the reproduced information that a relationship existsbetween the companies.

A further possibility to provide additional information to an non-expertreader is to mark an entire document comprising reproducible informationor (as in the case of the present exemplary embodiment) the entire dataset comprising reproducible information regarding the patentapplication, and thus to categorize the reproduced information. In thecase of the present exemplary embodiment, a categorization of the patentapplication is effected using the publication number (reproduced infield F3) of the data set or of the patent application. Thecategorization using the publication number of the patent application isthereby based on a query of the databank 10. For example, using thepublication number, a categorization can be effected for firm-internalinformation purposes, such that this patent application is part of across-license agreement.

Via activation of the correspondingly set marking 25, ultimatelyadditional information could be displayed which gives information aboutthe cross-license agreement, in particular the contract partner and thecontract content. A marking can be characterized by whether the patentapplication is still held, and thus not yet legally abandoned.

Finally, via activation of the marking 25, additional information can bedisplayed which gives information about in which countries the patentapplication is still held and whether protective rights have alreadybeen granted.

If the displayable information exist as a pixel (or rasterized) graphicfile, for example in PDF format, such that individual elements of theinformation cannot be extracted and the elements can not be searched indatabanks, the respective pixel graphic file can undergo an “OCR”(optical character recognition) with the aid of the program.

Via this procedure, one obtains reproducible information which comprisesextractable elements which can be specifically sought in databanks. Ifadditional information regarding individual elements exists indatabanks, it enables the program to mark the displayed section of thepixel graphic file regarding the respective element of the obtainedfile, which, for example, can ensue (in a manner not shown) via a colorframing of the respective section. Reproduced information in the form ofpixel graphic files can thus accordingly also be provided with markingswhich, upon activation, lead to a display of additional informationidentified in databanks.

The markings shown in the exemplary embodiment are, incidentally, to beunderstood only as exemplary. Other forms of markings of elements canthus also be selected, and more than the shown markings can be set.

Embodiments of the invention were discussed in the preceding text in theexample of reproducible patent information. The application of theinvention is, however, not limited to this form of reproducibleinformation, but rather can be applied given any form of reproducibleinformation.

The field of medicine, for example, represents a further area ofapplication for the invention. Reproducible information comprisingtechnical terms and subject-specific abbreviations can also here be madeintelligible for an inexperienced or non-expert reader via theinvention. An example of this is the storage of medical x-ray images inthe DICOM format (Digital Imaging and Communication in Medicine).

In this form of x-ray image storage, a data set (with data that, forexample, comprises information about the identity of the patient,information about a setting of the x-ray apparatus during theexamination, or information about findings) is added to an actual x-rayimage. The data set is also designated as a header. Given thereproduction of an x-ray image, these designations are normallyreproduced abbreviated. By contacting a suitable databank, theseabbreviations in the reproduced information can, as previouslyspecified, be marked and linked with additional information from thedatabank, such that, given comprehension difficulties, an inexperiencedor non-expert reader can display the additional information serving forcomprehension via activation of a corresponding marking. For example, inthis manner, it is possible to display in long form a finding (forexample “IXVB”) reproduced in abbreviated form together with the x-rayimage.

In the present case, after activation of a marking associated with theabbreviation “IXVB”, the following can be displayed: “Suspicion ofastrocytoma=fiber-rich growth of the brain made up of cells of the typeof the antrocytes (i.e., a branched, star-shaped cell element)”.

For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of theinvention, reference has been made to the preferred embodimentsillustrated in the drawings, and specific language has been used todescribe these embodiments. However, no limitation of the scope of theinvention is intended by this specific language, and the inventionshould be construed to encompass all embodiments that would normallyoccur to one of ordinary skill in the art.

The present invention may be described in terms of functional blockcomponents and various processing steps. Such functional blocks may berealized by any number of hardware and/or software components configuredto perform the specified functions. For example, the present inventionmay employ various integrated circuit components, e.g., memory elements,processing elements, logic elements, look-up tables, and the like, whichmay carry out a variety of functions under the control of one or moremicroprocessors or other control devices. Similarly, where the elementsof the present invention are implemented using software programming orsoftware elements the invention may be implemented with any programmingor scripting language such as C, C++, Java, assembler, or the like, withthe various algorithms being implemented with any combination of datastructures, objects, processes, routines or other programming elements.Furthermore, the present invention could employ any number ofconventional techniques for electronics configuration, signal processingand/or control, data processing and the like.

The particular implementations shown and described herein areillustrative examples of the invention and are not intended to otherwiselimit the scope of the invention in any way. For the sake of brevity,conventional electronics, control systems, software development andother functional aspects of the systems (and components of theindividual operating components of the systems) may not be described indetail. Furthermore, the connecting lines, or connectors shown in thevarious figures presented are intended to represent exemplary functionalrelationships and/or physical or logical couplings between the variouselements. It should be noted that many alternative or additionalfunctional relationships, physical connections or logical connectionsmay be present in a practical device. Moreover, no item or component isessential to the practice of the invention unless the element isspecifically described as “essential” or “critical”. Numerousmodifications and adaptations will be readily apparent to those skilledin this art without departing from the spirit and scope of the presentinvention.

1. A method to provide additional information using a program, loaded ona computer, to reproduce information, comprising: a) contacting, by theprogram, at least one databank which comprises at least one item oflogical additional information regarding information reproducible withthe program; b) comparing at least one element of reproducibleinformation with at least one element in the databank; c) marking theelement of the reproduced information when logical additionalinformation regarding the element exists in the databank; d) linking themarked element of the reproducible information with the additionalinformation such that said marking of the element is activated so thatsaid additional information is displayed; e) providing a selection ofdatabanks that are contacted by the program to permit a user tospecifically select one or more specific databanks in which additionalinformation regarding reproducible information is requested; f)subjecting a pixel graphic file which comprises information to bereproduced to an optical character recognition utility, therebyproducing a file; g) searching, based on the file generated from thisprocedure and comprising elements in at least one databank, for logicaladditional information regarding at least one element in the file; andh) marking, if additional information regarding the element is present,a section of the pixel graphic file belonging to the element of theobtained file upon reproduction of the pixel graphic file.
 2. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein at least one of the elements is a word, acontraction, a number, a logical structure, a variable, or a combinationof these.
 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein at least one ofthe elements comprises at least one sub-element.
 4. The method accordingto claim 3, further comprising uniformly marking various sub-elements inreproducible information belonging to at least one of the elements. 5.The method according to claim 1, further comprising simultaneouslycontacting a plurality of databanks with the program.
 6. The methodaccording to claim 1, further comprising categorizing reproducibleinformation via a marking of an entire document comprising reproducibleinformation.
 7. The method according to claim 1, further comprisingassociating, under consideration of a structure under which informationis reproduced, at least one databank, in which at least one item ofadditional information is present for information reproducible in thestructure element, with a structure element of the structure.
 8. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein the program comprises or is a partof an Internet browser.
 9. The method according to claim 1, wherein themarking comprises a link.
 10. The method according to claim 1, furthercomprising, during the linking, adding the additional information to thereproducible information so that the additional information is displayedupon activating the marking.
 11. A computer comprising: a memory inwhich one or more computer programs are stored; an input acceptingcommands from a user; a display providing information to a user; the oneor more computer programs comprising: a databank communication elementcontacting at least one databank which comprises at least one item oflogical additional information regarding reproducible information; acomparison routine comparing one element of reproducible informationwith at least one element in the databank; an update routine: a) markingthe element of the reproduced information when logical additionalinformation regarding the element exists in the databank, and b) linkingthe marked element of the reproducible information with the additionalinformation such that said marking of the element is activated so thatsaid additional information is displayed; a communication routinecontacting a selection of databanks by which a user selects one or moredatabanks for additional information regarding requested reproducibleinformation; an optical character recognition routine which accepts apixel graphic file which comprises information to be reproduced andwhich produces a file; a search algorithm searching, based on the filegenerated from this procedure and comprising elements in at least onedatabank for logical additional information regarding at least oneelement in the file; and a marking routine which marks insofar asadditional information regarding the element is present, a section ofthe pixel graphic file belonging to the element of the obtained fileupon reproduction of the pixel graphic file.
 12. The computer accordingto claim 11, wherein at least one of the elements is a word, acontraction, a number, a logical structure, a variable or a combinationof these.
 13. The computer according to claim 11 where at least one ofthe elements comprises at least one sub-element.
 14. The computeraccording to claim 13, further comprising a marking routine configuredto uniformly mark various sub-elements of reproducible informationbelonging to at least one of the elements.
 15. The computer according toclaim 11, further comprising a communication routine configured tosimultaneously contact a plurality of databanks.
 16. The computeraccording to claim 11, further comprising a routine configured tocategorize the reproducible information via a marking of an entiredocument having reproducible information.
 17. The computer according toclaim 11, further comprising a routine for associating, underconsideration of the structure under which information is reproduced, atleast one databank, in which at least one item of additional informationis present for information reproducible in the structure element, with astructure element of the structure.
 18. The computer according to claim11, wherein the program comprises or is a part of an Internet browser.19. The computer according to claim 11, wherein the mark comprises alink.
 20. The computer according to claim 11, further comprising aroutine configured, in the course of the linking, to add the additionalinformation to the reproducible information so that the additionalinformation is displayed upon activation of the marking.
 21. A systemconfigured to provide additional information to a user based on originalreproducible information, comprising: a computer having a memory andcomprising a user input accepting commands from a user, a user displaypresenting information in visual form to the user, and a networkconnection accessing information located outside of the computer; one ormore data banks comprising the additional information, the data bankshaving a network connection; a network to which the network connectionof the computer is connected and to which the network connection of thedata banks is connected, and over which the additional information iscommunicated from the data banks to the computer; and a memory of thecomputer comprising an algorithm running on the computer, the algorithmcomprising: a comparison routine comparing one element of reproducibleinformation with at least one element in the databank; an updateroutine: a) marking the element of the reproduced information whenlogical additional information regarding the element exists in thedatabank, and b) linking the marked element of the reproducibleinformation with the additional information such that said marking ofthe element is activated so that said additional information isdisplayed; a communication routine contacting a selection of databanksby which a user selects one or more databanks for additional informationregarding requested reproducible information; an optical characterrecognition routine accepts a pixel graphic file which comprisesinformation to be reproduced and which produces a file; a searchalgorithm searching, based on the file generated from this procedure andelements in at least one databank for logical additional informationregarding at least one element in the file; and a marking routinemarking, insofar as additional information regarding the element ispresent, a section of the pixel graphic file belonging to the element ofthe obtained file upon reproduction of the pixel graphic file.
 22. Amethod to provide additional information using a program, loaded on acomputer, to reproduce information, comprising: a) contacting, by theprogram, at least one databank which comprises at least one item oflogical additional information regarding information reproducible withthe program; b) comparing at least one element of reproducibleinformation with at least one element in the databank; c) marking theelement of the reproduced information when logical additionalinformation regarding the element exists in the databank; d) linking themarked element of the reproducible information with the additionalinformation such that said marking of the element is activated so thatsaid additional information is displayed; e) providing a selection ofdatabanks that are contacted by the program to permit a user tospecifically select one or more specific databanks in which additionalinformation regarding reproducible information is requested; f)producing a file from a pixel graphic file; g) searching, based on thefile generated and elements in at least one databank, for logicaladditional information regarding at least one element in the file; andh) marking, if additional information regarding the element is present,a section of the pixel graphic file belonging to the element of theobtained file upon reproduction of the pixel graphic file.